Lost
by Jaeh
Summary: Who knew that a simple refusal could cause so many problems? Vacations are not always as pleasant as you think. Ben-Riley Friendship angst. And when I say angst, I MEAN serious angst. A tad more informative summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi guys! LOOK I POSTED A NEW STORY. Okay, this is going to be a seriously angsty one. Seriously. And a long one too – probably around 15-20 chapters. I'm not sure yet – let's see how it runs. xD

The title is inspired by the SONG "Lost" by Coldplay. (not by the tv show, in case you're wondering :p I've never even watched it xD )

This part is just a prologue, an intro chapt. of sorts, so there isn't much action just yet.

**Summary: Who knew that a simple refusal could cause so many problems? Vacations are not always as pleasant as you think. Ben-Riley Friendship angst. Read and enjoy, please ^^  
**

**Riley goes on a vacation without Ben. Bad things happen. To sum it up, let me quote something Riley would say in an upcoming chapter: "Why does it always happen to _me?_"**

Disclaimer: Don't own it. xD

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Riley entered the room quietly, clutching the two tickets and brochures behind him. He laughed to himself, and crept towards Ben, grinning madly.

_Ben is _so_ going to be surprised._

The idea had sprung up a few months ago. Riley and Ben were working on their own jobs: Riley with his projects from various clients and Ben with his teaching job at Georgetown University.

The idea came from this:

"The sun is shining, the birds are singing, so what in the world are we doing inside the house working?" The sun answered him with a blinding flash onto his polished laptop, and Riley squinted. _The weather's mocking me._ "Life just continues to mock me, doesn't it?" Riley mumbled, and turned to Ben. "I need a break."

"Then… have a break." Ben murmured from his desk, and took a drink from his coffee. "I can't afford a break – I need the lesson plan for this week and the exams prepared. And also, I – "

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I need to crack this system open before my deadline, too. But… a break. Dude, we need a vacation. A serious one. What are we doing _working?! _It's such a beautiful morning."

"We actually have real jobs now, Riley. _I have _a real job - classes everyday..."Ben replied, waving one hand, the other not leaving his keyboard. Ben faced Riley. "Face it Riley, we're busy. Vacations are out of the question." He returned to his work, and continued tapping away on his keyboard.

Riley blinked incredulously at Ben. "What about your birthday in a few months?"

Ben knotted his forehead. "Whose birthday?"

"_Your_ birthday!" Riley laughed. "Dude, seriously. You need a break. Geez, Ben – you forgot _your own birthday_." Riley banged a hand on the table, making Ben jump in his seat. "Come on! Ben!" Riley waved at the air. "You've always been bugging me to go out diving or something… well this is our chance! Take some time off – your students would understand, just leave them some activity. I'll tell my clients that I have to go somewhere…"

"Riley, it's just not possible."

"Just us boys, Ben – Boys' day out." Riley did his famous puppy dog eyes – something he hadn't tried on Ben for a while – and smiled pleadingly.

"If you can get tickets, reservations…" Ben replied, shaking his head. "I really can't go Riley. It's… just, not possible. I'm too busy."

Riley chuckled. "This, is just a vacation. Not the Templar Treasure. It's not impossible - it would be fun!" Riley grinned widely, and gestured at Ben again. "If I get reservations, and/or tickets… Do it for me, buddy! In a few months. You're bound to be off the hook by then – classes wouldn't be that hectic. Please?"

"Sure, Riley, whatever you say." Ben said, waving his hand in a dismissing motion.

"Really? Promise me, Ben. I _am__ really_ going to do this."

"Yes, sure, whatever you say."

Riley had the tickets now, placed the reservations and rented rooms; paid for almost everything they would need in advance. He decided to spring the surprise a week before Ben's birthday, so the big guy could have a couple of days in advance to pack up his stuff and fix his class schedules.

Riley's excitement caused a small fumble in his step, and he shook his head, grinning. It was Ben's birthday soon, and they haven't gotten together for a while… and he remembered that this was one of the places Ben had always wanted to go, but didn't have the chance to because of time constraints and/or fully-booked reservations. Ben would be happy about this.

Ben _should_ be happy about this, _right_?

After all, he _did_ promise Riley that he would go, and as far as Riley knew, Ben had never backed down from any promises he made.

Riley was about to learn that there was a first time for everything.

* * *

"BEN!"

Ben almost fell from his seat in surprise. "What the heck…" He turned to face the cause of his rude interruption, and was prepared to deliver one of his deadly professor glares when he saw that it was Riley. His expression softened just a bit, but the annoyance didn't leave any of his features. "What?"

"I have a surprise for you! Advanced birthday gift – "

Ben frowned, and waved at Riley. "Riley, not today. It's not a good time…"

"Aw come on, dude. It's _never_ a good time for you these days." Riley sat on the desk besides Ben's laptop. "Come on! Just check it out and you'll see!" He held out an envelope, and grinned at Ben. "Take it. It's yours. And mine too – kind of – open it!"

"Later." Ben tossed it into a drawer, making Riley frown. Ben didn't notice, though, for he had started tapping away on his computer again.

Riley slid down from the desk, and proceeded to the coach behind Ben. "Come on… you _did_ promise…" He whispered just out of Ben's earshot. He said louder, "Open it. Please?"

Ben huffed under his breath, and ripped the envelope open. Two tickets and brochures fell out, and Ben stared at them in disbelief. "Wha – ?"

"Happy birthday Ben!" Riley beamed and waved at the tickets. "Remember that 'Boys' day out' thing I was telling you about? Well, this is it! I gave it to you a couple of days in advance so you can get everything in order... We haven't seen each other for a couple of months now – busy schedules and all, and I thought this would be a great thing so we can hang out for a week or so. Besides, remember that you've been bugging me to go diving…"

Ben didn't hear the rest of Riley's words – he was too busy examining the tickets and brochures in disbelief. He remembered this place – he had always wanted to go to this part of Asia, and he heard island hopping there would be great… But no. He had too much work to do and – why the heck was he even paying attention to this? He a lot of things to do, he hadn't even finished his exams yet and grading the papers and finishing the lecture and researching and –

"No!" Ben suddenly snapped, cutting Riley off from his cheerful monologue. "Riley, you know that I just have too much to do. What are you even thinking?! I can't go with you!"

Riley blinked at Ben, his cheerfulness immediately draining out of his face. He was dumbstruck, and he couldn't say anything but: "If… then… what should I do with these?" He grabbed the tickets, and raised them for emphasis.

Ben waved a dismissing hand at Riley, every gesture conveying his annoyance at this seemingly unimportant news Riley presented to him. "I can't believe you'd bother me over something like this. I'm busy."

There wasn't any answer but a small _click_ from the door. Ben frowned thoughtfully, and sighed. _Honestly_, he would love to, but _there's just no time…_

* * *

Riley left the history department's building without another word. He almost chucked the tickets angrily into the waste earlier, but then remembered how hard it was to get those tickets, so he stuffed them in his pockets instead.

He just couldn't believe that Ben could do that to him.

Ben _never_ broke his promises with other people. Not even to his adopted nephews in Riley's family. Riley had never asked Ben for any promises, not until a few months ago. He placed it under lock and key in his head back then, thinking that Ben probably had his own promise inscribed in that brain of his and that Ben would probably even be the one to remind Riley.

But boy, _was he wrong_.

As far as Riley knew, this was the first time Ben ever went against a promise. Pity that it happened to Riley.

Riley resisted the urge to rip the tickets and brochure apart. Even if he was rich, it would be such a waste if he did that. But he just couldn't forget how Ben yelled at him.

He was _just_ doing something nice for Ben! _It _is_ Ben's birthday, and I'm giving him a damned gift, so we could do something, stress reliever and all that crap, and this is what I freaking get?_ _I did _not_ deserve such rude treatment_.

Ben _screamed_ at him for no real reason at all. Riley knew that Ben was stressed out, but Riley was just trying to help, and_what a damned rude response_!

Riley kicked at a stone so hard that it hit a small bench and flew back at him, hitting his leg. Riley cursed loud enough for everyone to hear. He then sighed, and straightened the tickets, then pocketed them again with resignation.

_So much for brotherly bonding. I wonder if Aly's free this week…_

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extra A/N: aly's Riley's girlfriend - like in some of my other fics, but trust me, even if she's an important character, there wouldn't be much of riley and aly romance stuff in this story.

Review the short prologue please! More to come, I promise. The story'll pick up soon, really!

-Jaeh ^^


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, sorry for the late update. It's been real busy, and I really sorta hated this chappie, but my beta Lori pushed me to it. Haha. It'll get better in the next chaps! And when I say angst, I mean angst. Please prepare for (a little too much?) Riley whining and imbalanced angst. It's like Riles is going through adolescence again. Haha.

extra A/N: I knew I said Aly would be in this fic as an important character, but I decided to scrap that idea and am gonna go with something else. :D Maybe she'll be in for a little fluff, but this'll be almost all riley and ben.

Disclaimer: Not a thing I own.

* * *

His week just got worse.

Aly graciously declined Riley's offer of a vacation. He stood there with a dejected look, his shoulders heavy with disappointment. _Another blow. It's like adding injury to… injury._ "Riley, I really would love to, but I can't. I'm sorry, love – I have exams." Aly gave him a kiss and a sad smile, and squeezed him in a tight hug. "I'm really really sorry."And she sat with him for about half of the day under a tree in comfortable silence.

Riley knew Aly hadn't been saying sorry for not being able to go. She was talking about Ben, and somehow that made Riley more miserably.

"I guess I'm just going alone, then."

Aly popped up from her position and gaped at Riley. "No, Ri! Riley, you're _not_ going alone!"

Riley groaned, and sank to the grass. "Who else, then? My family is not even in this country. You're busy… Abigail definitely is… My other friends aren't up for impromptu vacations, Aly. Face it, I have no choice. I can't let these tickets go to waste."

Aly sighed, and sat on a root and faced Riley. "Can't you just make a refund or something?"

Riley shook his head. "Too late for that." He sighed, and leaned back against the tree. "It's not as if I wanted this, Alyson." _Oh wait, I did want to go. With Ben. Dammit, I hate this. _He rarely used her real name, unless he felt really… _negative_. "I've already cleared my schedule. I've already packed. I've already bought tickets. I don't want to waste anything."

"Never stopped you before." Aly pointed out, frowning. "Riley, I really don't want you to go alone." _I should really listen to her. She knows her stuff._ "Divers need diving buddies, Riley."

"I'll find someone when I get there."

Aly scowled. "The hell you will Mister Poole."

Riley ran fingers through her hair. "Don't worry about me. I'll call you. I promise."

And then he left. He jumped in his car, and drove away. He peered at his mirror, and saw Aly hug herself, then wave goodbye. He shuddered, and drove away. It was far too dramatic for his taste, but he couldn't deny that he felt really dramatic anyway.

What Ben did had shaken him for reasons that he really didn't understand. _People break their promises all the time, Riley. Why should Ben be any different?_ Riley sighed again, and gunned the engine to move past the speed limit on the highway. When he was angry he tended to do crazy things, and a driver waved a hand at him as he sped past the guy. Riley eventually slowed down, and stopped at the shoulder of the road. _This is why I never trust anyone beyond family. _He had been hurt a lot of times – he had been reluctant to trust people outside his family's circle.

He felt sad. And utterly disappointed. Riley expected more from Ben. Ben was his best friend, and his adoptive brother, and he trusted him with his life… _Is it really that hard to forgive him just for missing a vacation trip, Riley?_ Riley sighed. It wasn't the fact that Ben broke his promise that disappointed and hurt Riley. It was the fact that his trust had been annoyingly and illogically shaken by a small refusal**.**

He hated carrying baggage under his innocent façade.

_Not that it matters. There's nothing I can do now – and I don't want to back off from this vacation. I have stress to beat._ Riley sighed, and forced a smile on his face, and drove back to his place.

_Ben or no Ben, I'm making sure this vacation is going to be fun._

_

* * *

_

Riley stared at the horizon, as he watched the sun set, sinking down into the sea. The sky was washed with hues of orange, red and pink, and fluffy clouds stained with colors floated peacefully in the purple sky. Riley smiled, and leaned back in his chair. _Wow. If every day was like this I wouldn't protest._

The resort's service was good. Someone handed him a glass of iced tea, complete with a small umbrella, a slice of lemon and a bendy straw. He leaned back, and smiled to himself. _I could get used to this. _The week was filled with scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, and a bunch of stuff that you could only do in the ocean. The only problem he ran into was when a jellyfish swam uncomfortably into his shorts and zapped a place too close to something important for annoying circumstances aside,it was one of the best vacations he ever had.

A pang of disappointment and sadness hit him then. His best friend wasn't there. _Dammit_. It made him feel weak and _annoyed_. He hated feeling weak. It annoyed him to the point that he wanted to punch something continually and break it in the process. His best friend, his _brother_ was supposed to be there, and he wasn't. All because of some stupid work that he probably didn't enjoy much anyway. Oh sure, Ben loved history, but the treasure hunter _hated_ paperwork. For years Riley had been bugging him to get a secretary, but _noooooo… Stubborn old Ben would rather screw up his relationship with family than hand his pride over to a young intern._

He might be a mighty whiner, but Riley was no wimp. He wanted to get it over it, but he was just illogically hurt by the little incident. _Trusting someone for this long has a way of biting you in the butt once he does something stupid. I should have known better._ Riley groaned, and forced himself to enjoy the lingering colors of the sunset. He was still annoyed and angry that he felt betrayed by a small thing like this, but after all he did for Ben, who could blame him?

_Ben didn't deserve your help Riley._

Shut up.

_You know it. He treats you like your something he could just take for granted. As if you haven't sacrificed anything. I bet you'd have a small, profitable computer security business already built up and stable if you didn't help him back then._

I said, Shut. Up.

_You just don't want to face the truth that you help a man who doesn't really care for you, huh?_

Riley swatted at the air, wanting that horrible voice to stop. _That's not true. Ben cares. Ben is my best friend. He's practically my brother._ Yet something rang true to it. He stepped out of his room, and relaxed in a lounge chair, watching the stars.

"There's time to face it when I get back." Riley told himself. "Right now, I'm going to enjoy this vacation." _Whether I feel like it or not._

_

* * *

_

The boat left early. Riley was almost left behind– he woke up a few minutes late and had to quickly pull on his cumbersome wetsuit. His diving group laughed about it, and threw some playful jabs at his shoulder. "We almost left you behind, man!" Joe, his current diving buddy, slapped his back.

Riley doubled over a bit, and laughed. "Heavy paw you have there, big man."

Joe laughed again. The dive master caught their attention, and everyone turned to him. Something about strong currents, freak currents, and sea urchins. _The usual_, Riley thought to himself. He was listening, but he didn't have his whole attention on the dive master. _Ben really should be here._ He peered into the clear seawater, and saw the bright colors of the coral underneath. _This is… beautiful._

Riley got his equipment on, slipping the mask and flippers on last. He leapt into the water, and released some air on his buoyancy control device –something that looked like a very fancy life jacket. He breathed in and out. _This sounds _nothing_ like Vader. _He grinned to himself, and kicked over to his diving buddy. Joe waved at him, and Riley gave his okay sign. A turtle caught Riley's eye, and he swam to it. The blue-ish tint on its seagreen back was beautiful, and Riley reached out to touch it. It darted away, revealing a giant clam under him. He grinned, and reached over to touch it.

Joe gestured at Riley to hurry up. Joe pretended to smack the back of his head. _Oh, right. Diving buddies for a reason._ Riley followed, and waved back every time Joe looked back at him.

Something started pulling on Riley's flippers, and Riley kicked away. The invisible force persisted, and Riley panicked a little, kicking in vain. But the current was too strong, so he surfaced as fast as he could without injuring himself. Riley glanced around, and saw the boat farther than he thought it would be. He tried to swim towards it, screaming all the time, but the sea was just too strong to be countered. The boatmen didn't seem to hear him, either.

"What the hell…" He knew it wasn't a rip current – he was too far from the shore for that sort of thing to pull him away. Riley tried not to panic, and stopped swimming. The boat seemed to float even further, and Riley tried another kick. It just wasn't working, and Riley stopped trying.

That was when it sunk in.

Whoevermight help him was so far off, and the freak current was dragging him even further away. Riley suddenly felt so helpless, and panic _really_ started to sink in. He tried to shake it off, but it wasn't working and he couldn't see the boat anymore.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

* * *

It's a little fast, but what happened on Riley's vacation stays in Riley's vacation (haha) and it really isn't the focus of the story. ;) Review please! :)

-Jaeh :)


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